Homepage Article Everton's Attitude Problem

[Glasshalffull]

Not wanting to pass the ball forward is an attitude or courage issue. Not wanting to commit to tackles is a commitment issue. Not tracking runners is an effort issue. Not running beyond the forward as a midfield player is a mentality issue. Not looking for the ball is a bravery issue.

It's all attitude and commitment. You knew the minute we conceded that there would be no response. They are an average team with a lack of commitment.

Certainly, there's no question that failure to commit to a tackle is an attitude issue, but a lot of apparent attitude problems can equally be organisational ones. A player who's had his own and his team mates' roles drilled into him so that it's instinct might start a tracking run a second or two earlier, and so not be burnt off from the getgo. In midfield, a player who instinctively knows where his mates are likely to be (and they also know where to move) is more likely to be able to make a forward pass than one who has to spend seconds looking and trying to read body language before being able to pass. Similarly, where, if a midfielder has to think about whether the situation and his role today allow him to get in the box, the situation will have changed while he was thinking, and the opportunity be gone.

The manager, Shirley must take some of the blame for frequent team and formation changes, apparently roles, too, which make Ranieri look decisive. The less gifted that players are, the more vital organisation becomes, and maybe Ancelotti is just used to more gifted players, but our lot to me look disorganised and possibly demoralised as a result, as much as just can't be bothered.

 

[Terrarian]

How exactly is a player unable to track back? If it's because they are slower than the players running past them, having the winning mentality will also mean training harder to become a faster player. If it's because they are mentally slower, having the winning mentality will help to see the threat before it happens. If it's because the manager's tactics stops them from tracking back, the winning mentality will force a change in tactics.

If the current Everton squad could be hypnotised in to having a winning mentality and a willingness to put in 100% effort in to every single game they play then achieving top 4 would be easily achievable. Yes we need better players but if new players arrive with a winning mentality but they don't see that same will to win in the rest of the squad around them they'll be dragged down rather than the rest of the squad being raised up a level.

What we need is a ruthless captain that will put the boot in to people when they don't put the effort in. As much as I hate them, we need a Roy Keane, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Tony Adams, Vinnie Jones type of player. We need a captain that other team's fans will hate because of how inspirational they are to Everton.

Pace is not so0mething you can just train at to become faster I'm afraid, if you are slow, you are slow. You can probably make incremental improvements but not enough to suddenly become fast.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Certainly, there's no question that failure to commit to a tackle is an attitude issue, but a lot of apparent attitude problems can equally be organisational ones. A player who's had his own and his team mates' roles drilled into him so that it's instinct might start a tracking run a second or two earlier, and so not be burnt off from the getgo. In midfield, a player who instinctively knows where his mates are likely to be (and they also know where to move) is more likely to be able to make a forward pass than one who has to spend seconds looking and trying to read body language before being able to pass. Similarly, where, if a midfielder has to think about whether the situation and his role today allow him to get in the box, the situation will have changed while he was thinking, and the opportunity be gone.

The manager, Shirley must take some of the blame for frequent team and formation changes, apparently roles, too, which make Ranieri look decisive. The less gifted that players are, the more vital organisation becomes, and maybe Ancelotti is just used to more gifted players, but our lot to me look disorganised and possibly demoralised as a result, as much as just can't be bothered.

They show they can be organised away from home. They pick and choose when they want to lift their game and effort levels. That's why they are an unacceptable group of players. Thoroughly unlikeable.

 

[Eggs]

How exactly is a player unable to track back? If it's because they are slower than the players running past them, having the winning mentality will also mean training harder to become a faster player. If it's because they are mentally slower, having the winning mentality will help to see the threat before it happens. If it's because the manager's tactics stops them from tracking back, the winning mentality will force a change in tactics.

If the current Everton squad could be hypnotised in to having a winning mentality and a willingness to put in 100% effort in to every single game they play then achieving top 4 would be easily achievable. Yes we need better players but if new players arrive with a winning mentality but they don't see that same will to win in the rest of the squad around them they'll be dragged down rather than the rest of the squad being raised up a level.

What we need is a ruthless captain that will put the boot in to people when they don't put the effort in. As much as I hate them, we need a Roy Keane, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Tony Adams, Vinnie Jones type of player. We need a captain that other team's fans will hate because of how inspirational they are to Everton.

...exactly that, Gomes can’t match the speed and momentum of players going past him. It’s how he is. Slower ones are often a bit cuter, Mina will put an arm across or try and get his body in the way to halt the momentum of his opponent. Sadly, Gomes is just very slow, he really lacks acceleration.

I really don’t get this ‘captain’ issue. Our most successful captains were Labone & Ratcliffe. Neither were voiciferous, neither were in the referee’s face & neither went about the pitch shouting. What we need are top players. It’s the top players who tend to be disliked by opposition fans.

 

[blulouie]

Personally I think changing the culture of a club is the hardest thing to do. Look at the Premier league and think of how many clubs have actually achieved it?
Man City took several seasons to get that winning mentality after their takeover. They had plenty of poor signings along the way but built their success on several good signings.
Leicester on the face of it seem like an anomaly but they have become an exremely well run club from top to bottom. They struck lucky with Vardy and had some other good recruitment thanks to Steve Walsh.
Man Utd are proof that it can easily go the other way. Once Ferguson stepped down that winning mentality disappeared over night and they've only shown brief signs of getting it back again recently.

The reality is, a winning mentality comes from good and proper management from top to bottom, a bit of luck and good judgement in the transfer market and an element of ruthlessness to deal with anything that's stopping the club from winning. Personally I think Everton are failing in all 3 aspects at the moment.
The good management may be improving thanks to Ancelotti but even after 18 months, I think it's too early to tell. This season may seem like a failure due to our abysmal home form and some utterly disgraceful results against poor teams but overall it has been an improvement over the previous season.
With 2 games left to play...
We have 3 more wins than last season
We have 7 more points than last season
We've scored 2 more goals than last season
We've conceded 13 goals less than last season

Despite this season seeming like a failure, had we converted 3 of our 9 home defeats in to wins we'd be sitting in 4th place right now which would have been a hugely successful season. Things may not look good at the moment and morale amongst the fans has been very low after each home defeat but if we can see similar improvements next season like we have this season then things are going to start looking a bit better. The summer transfer window is going to be huge. If we can bring in at least 3 players that are going to improve the starting 11 it'll be a good step towards bringing a winning mentality.

Very good points made here ...good post.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

There is nothing wrong with playing a 352 in theory. I'm not a fan of a back 3 but it's not supposed to be a negative system. It's generally one of the most pragmatic ways to get 2 strikers on the pitch.

If we had only played 1 up top then people would have said Ancelotti was negative. But the fact is that we are far better with DCL up top on his own and Richarlison deeper or out wide. I don't like playing 2 strikers other than in a traditional and very rigid 442. You need very specific and well drilled players for that, which I don't think we have.

I'm a 433 fan. I think it's how we should look to play almost all of the time. DCL and Richarlison haven't played well enough together for us to be leaving the midfield exposed to accomodate them.

433 is the way to go - concerning how Carlo dropped it just because Saints beat us away from home

 

[-Rob-]

Pace is not so0mething you can just train at to become faster I'm afraid, if you are slow, you are slow. You can probably make incremental improvements but not enough to suddenly become fast.

That is exactly what training can do. I admit, you're not going to go from slow to fast through training but you can go from slow to a bit faster.

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

Certainly, there's no question that failure to commit to a tackle is an attitude issue, but a lot of apparent attitude problems can equally be organisational ones. A player who's had his own and his team mates' roles drilled into him so that it's instinct might start a tracking run a second or two earlier, and so not be burnt off from the getgo. In midfield, a player who instinctively knows where his mates are likely to be (and they also know where to move) is more likely to be able to make a forward pass than one who has to spend seconds looking and trying to read body language before being able to pass. Similarly, where, if a midfielder has to think about whether the situation and his role today allow him to get in the box, the situation will have changed while he was thinking, and the opportunity be gone.

The manager, Shirley must take some of the blame for frequent team and formation changes, apparently roles, too, which make Ranieri look decisive. The less gifted that players are, the more vital organisation becomes, and maybe Ancelotti is just used to more gifted players, but our lot to me look disorganised and possibly demoralised as a result, as much as just can't be bothered.

Wait, what?

Have I missed a transition or a sacking here

 

[Terrarian]

That is exactly what training can do. I admit, you're not going to go from slow to fast through training but you can go from slow to a bit faster.

you're talking miliseconds though, helpful; in a sprint race not so much a game of football especially if you don't have any acceleration either.

 

[-Rob-]

you're talking miliseconds though, helpful; in a sprint race not so much a game of football especially if you don't have any acceleration either.

For someone like Gomes you're probably right but if the youth team are trained to react quicker, run quicker and run more then they'll potentially be a yard quicker throughout their career.

If the total attitude of the club is to be changed, it needs to be done from the ground up so that goes from the youth team to the starting 11. The youth team need to learn from an early age that if they want to become a £100k a week player winning trophies then they need to run through brick walls for the club.

 

[ToffeeDan]

How I feel about our club - I'll summarise it with these comments I made previously this weekend

Everton FC will NEVER win anything until it develops a ruthless streak - one that cancels contracts on the likes of Besic, Garbutt, Connolly, Bolasie, Gbamin - legally of course - by selling them or moving them on or paying someone to take them away. Too many players know Everton are a soft touch - perhaps they have a direct line to Andy Van der Meyde's mobile ("Andy, how did you manage to pick up four years wages, never score a goal or even finish a game and get paid?")

Perhaps they know that the managers live on a knife edge and the players can get them sacked with a few lousy performances after a good year (Lee, Bingham, Martinez, Silva, Koeman).... and keep the wheel of failure going whilst picking up the spondoolees. Maybe we, players, fans, club need to give a bit more - forgive a bit more.. maybe then we'll fluke our way to trophies, last minute winners, comeback wins against Messi... but in the meantime we'll always have goalless Tony, Pointing Pip, Shagged out Marouane, Managers who don't sign new contracts.. players who we think are "one of us" doing the dirty and sodding off to Spurs (oh, hang on, no, sitting on his backside for 4 months and going to Chelsea instead).

It would also help if we had a board with a spine - not one concentrating on winning Hospitality of the Year Awards for the Premier League - one that appointed KNOWN WINNERS as managers because, let's be honest, prior to Carlo, EVERY SINGLE APPOINTMENT HAS BEEN A GAMBLE (of which you could only argue Kendall (once), Catterick and maybe Moyes, to a degree, worked). Ian Buchan anyone?

It's so much fun supporting the least successful side in the Football Pyramid - the one side that hasn't won a single title, promotion, play-off final, cup or anything in the past 26 years. No matter how high the Premier League seems from the outfields of Rochdale and Swindon there's always Everton to laugh about - the team with no midfield general capable of coming close to Alan Ball, the team unable to dominate relegated teams, self-inflicting wound after wound, unable to beat a good side away from home*, incapable of avoiding a cup embarrassment at home to Tranmere or York or Bristol Rovers.

And only capable of midtable mediocrity and the odd fleeting glance at the top four or the bottom three..

And unable to keep possession, or pass it forward or even care too much.

Two and a half hours in the life of an Everton fan - from 1 Alisson to 14 Asshats in Blue.

And, what is Carlo doing about it? Well winning a 2nd half at Goodison would be a good start - 2 goals in the last 15 games in the 2nd half, both of those cancelled out (Spurs, Palace) suggests he can't get a tune out of these layabouts. And we haven't won a match in the 2nd half at home since his first match (vs Burnley, December 2019)

* unless they are at rock-bottom (Man U 2013, Liverpool, Arsenal 2021)

 

[brieverton]

It's almost surreal to be reading these comments, as reflective as they are of what we see on the pitch most often.

In terms of the starting XI and squad, we can only replace and renew a few players at a time. Like it or not, we'll still be dependent on the majority of the players that served up that drivel on Sunday.

It almost seems like a work-to-rule, although Ancelotti must be more pro-active in creating the conditions for the players to improve and increase their efforts.

Fundamentally though, we have been seeing the same problems for years.

If the manager is being held back, even to a small degree, at what point do Brands and the executive management have to get involved here?

We get Coleman saying this and that periodically, and Ancelotti said he was embarrassed on Sunday.

If there is a cohort of players phoning it in continually, when is this going to be addressed?

 

[Simon Buttle]

It's almost surreal to be reading these comments, as reflective as they are of what we see on the pitch most often.

In terms of the starting XI and squad, we can only replace and renew a few players at a time. Like it or not, we'll still be dependent on the majority of the players that served up that drivel on Sunday.

It almost seems like a work-to-rule, although Ancelotti must be more pro-active in creating the conditions for the players to improve and increase their efforts.

Fundamentally though, we have been seeing the same problems for years.

If the manager is being held back, even to a small degree, at what point do Brands and the executive management have to get involved here?

We get Coleman saying this and that periodically, and Ancelotti said he was embarrassed on Sunday.

If there is a cohort of players phoning it in continually, when is this going to be addressed?

I made this point yesterday, who are these rotten eggs? I mean fans hate Siggy but it would seem he is the model pro according to people in the game so i doubt it's him, Tom and Dom mess about but i doubt they have the influence to turn an entire dressing room. Richarlison stomps about sulking on the pitch but is his english good enough that he carries that on elsewhere? Is it Coleman? if so i wish he would be that vocal on pitch instead of off it. The only other thing i can think is that we might have developed a bit of split between the South American players in the squad and the Euro based players, but the stuff you see does'nt really suggest that and also if it was that then that's down to the manager to sort imo.

 

[Lanolin]

They show they can be organised away from home. They pick and choose when they want to lift their game and effort levels. That's why they are an unacceptable group of players. Thoroughly unlikeable.

Ancelotti's comments on sunday confirm (if it wasn't obvious anyway) that he sets them up differently home and away, so actually @Glasshalffull points would make perfect sense. When set up to be organised and compact they're able to do it, when asked to make the running they aren't. That very much ties in with the idea that they need to be given more structure and it needs to be drilled into them what they're supposed to do. I agree that at times it looks like we have a very laissez-faire approach, where we don't seem to have a specific plan to break teams down, and instead just sort of knock the ball about until we get the chance to give it to James or put a cross in. It's the sort of approach that works with better players who are good at decision making and comfortable in possession, but the less talented you are the harder off the cuff football is. It's not a coincidence that some managers are known for getting more out of limited players, it's because their methods facilitate it.

 

[catcherintherye]

Ancelotti's comments on sunday confirm (if it wasn't obvious anyway) that he sets them up differently home and away, so actually @Glasshalffull points would make perfect sense. When set up to be organised and compact they're able to do it, when asked to make the running they aren't. That very much ties in with the idea that they need to be given more structure and it needs to be drilled into them what they're supposed to do. I agree that at times it looks like we have a very laissez-faire approach, where we don't seem to have a specific plan to break teams down, and instead just sort of knock the ball about until we get the chance to give it to James or put a cross in. It's the sort of approach that works with better players who are good at decision making and comfortable in possession, but the less talented you are the harder off the cuff football is. It's not a coincidence that some managers are known for getting more out of limited players, it's because their methods facilitate it.

There's definitely a bit of when we play away we go for a bespoke strategy and playing at home he tries to operate with more freedom and it just falls down. That is on the manager too, and he should have operated wth the away approach in all games this season.

One thing I will say though, is that I do think there's a fair bit of luck invovled in our away results. We have played well at Leeds for a half, and United for a half. I thought we managed the derby game very well and were value for a win. But there's not too many outstanding performances. At times we just happened to get the 1st goal and defend well. At home we have not got the 1st goal and have looked similarly clueless.

Essentially, if we get the 1st goal we are ok, but if we don't we are finished. Through coincidence we have got the 1st goal quite often away and not at home. I'm not sure this is so much a home V away thing, but more of this is actually quite a poor team who have got a bit lucky thing.